What You Don't See
by lifes2real
Summary: Ashley and the 'poodle eating chameleon' are brought to the forefront. Missing scenes for Ep 103.


What You Don't See

Spoilers : Fata Morgana

Basic Disclaimer : The toys you recognize are not mine. I just took them out of their box and played with them for a while. I promise to put them away when I'm done.

Summary : Ashley and the 'poodle eating chameleon' are brought to the forefront. Missing scenes for Ep 103.

Word Count : 1307

Author's Note

The line '[The humanoid chameleon is] our kind of problem. One we should have taken care of before we went to Scotland.' got my attention. That and it's a poodle-eating chameleon. Really, why wouldn't I want to explore that?

~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~

Ashley peeked her head into Magnus's office. "Hey, Mom. I'm going out to follow up on that lead Henry had."

From behind the stack of books and papers on her desk Magnus looked up with a puzzled look on her face, "What lead?"

Ashley swung herself around the door frame and after a quick glance picked up a file from the corner of her desk. "This lead about the missing animals. A high number of missing pets centered in this area," she said, pulling out an aerial map Henry had printed out. "He said that he passed this along to you yesterday."

Magnus held out her hand and Ashley handed it over. Skimming through the folder, Magnus nodded, "I believe that he had. Though I did not realize that he had narrowed the area down so effectively."

"That's Henry, good with the data." Ashley looked at the disarray of her mother's desk, books, notes and scrolls all centered around the paper she brought to her mother a few days before. "Has he found anything with this?"

"Some, though I've found more in these books. I've translated a few things and I may have found coordinates, though I'll cross reference to verify them."

"Okay, my eyes automatically glaze over when you talk of cross referencing. I'll be back later this evening."

Ashley was about to stride into the hallway when her mother spoke up, "Be careful."

"Always," Ashley replied.

~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~

The horizon was changing from lavender to an orangey-pink when Ashley directed her motorcycle back home. Despite being covered in sewer slime, Ashley enjoyed the changing light as she weaved through the increasing traffic. However the peace of the upcoming morning was shattered when Biggie opened the door from the garage. With a low grunt the Big Guy took a generous step back. Growling under her breath Ashley headed straight to the residential area of the house only to be waylaid by her mother.

"Before you turn in, if you could find me, let me know how your evening went." Seeing the mutinous look on Ashley's face Magnus gave a small smile, "No rush."

After taking her time in the shower, letting herself be lulled by the hot spray of water, Ashley found her mother in her office with Will. After a small gesture from Magnus, Ashley entered the office and slumped in an empty chair. Simi-dozing, Ashley jerked when she heard her name, "Huh?"

"I asked how your evening went?"

"Bruised shoulder and can't seem to scrub the smell of the sewers from my sinuses but figured out what's eating the neighborhood Fidos." At her mother's raised eyebrow she sighed, "Seems that we have a humanoid chameleon living in the sewers."

"Isn't that supposed to be alligators living in the sewers?" Will asked jokingly

"No, those aren't alligators, they're Iwanci," Magnus replied in a tutorial tone.

"Besides that's only in New York," Ashley added. Grinning at the pondering look on Will's face, Ashley turned to Magnus, "I figure I'll go back out tonight and see if I can pick this thing up."

Magnus shook her head, "I want to leave early tomorrow morning for Scotland. I've verified the coordinates that I came across yesterday. However if this rubbing is something Sylvio was able to procure there are more copies out there. I want to check this out quickly."

"So I'll pack before I go out and sleep on the plane. I figure that wherever this place is it will be a bit of a drive from the airport. Are we stopping by to see anyone at the UK Sanctuary?"

"No, James is in Japan helping out with Suki's habitat and I don't want to make Declan feel as if I'm checking up on him while James is away." Pulling up her itinerary for the trip with a few keystrokes, Magnus shook her head, "And I think that it is best for you to not go out tonight. I really wish to leave first thing."

Ashley made a generic noise and pushed herself out of the chair, "I'm going to catch a few hours of sleep."

Magnus watched as her daughter turned and softly said her name. Turning back, Ashley snapped, "What?"

Ashley sighed when Magnus didn't say anything else, just looked at her. Not as hostile, Ashley replied, "I won't go out."

~*~-.-~*~-.-~*~

The mission was a success, if not what they expected. As Will and Ashley moved the first of the women they found in Scotland to a gurney Henry rounded the corner. "Hey, sorry for the delay, I got stuck with the... Dude, what's up with the sleeping women?"

"That's Mom's department. There's also a big freaky monster she already taken to her lab to open up and learn it's secrets." Leaving Will to strap the first woman in, Ashley gestured to Henry for him to help with the second. "So what's been happening on the home front?"

Picking up one end of the back board beneath the dark haired woman, Henry gave a half-shrug of the shoulder. "It's been pretty quiet."

"The chameleon?"

Henry gestured for Ashley to strap this woman in while he and Will moved the third woman to a gurney. "There's been a few more missing pets. Most recent was a poodle, and not one of those toy things that's barely a mouthful."

"Same area?" Will asked as he strapped the third woman down.

Shaking his head, Henry replied, "It looks like it's moving south along the main sewer tunnel. And it's getting bolder, choosing larger animals since I first started tracking it."

Each of them grabbed a gurney and started towards the lab. After leaving the three women in the care of Will, knowing her mother would help get them settled, Ashley started planning what she would need to take to capture the chameleon.

Later, after reassuring Magnus that she would be fine going out on her own and stopping by Henry's lab for the new 'toy' to test, Ashley found herself standing over a stunned chameleon. Dragging it to the sewer entrance she looked at her bike and sighed, "Damn, never going to live this down," she muttered as she pulled her phone out.

"Hey, so how did the adaptive thermal stunner work?"

"What? I need a pick up."

"The adaptive thermal stunner. I changed what I'm calling it."

Ashley glanced at her bag with a smirk, "Well, I call it broken. It fried before I ever found the chameleon."

"Did you drop it?" Henry demanded.

"I didn't drop it," Ashley said in a huff. "It let out a high pitch whine and stopped working."

Henry hummed, "Well bring it back in. I'll check it out."

Ashley rolled her eyes, "I don't have to bring it in. You have to come and get it, with the van. I need a pick up."

"You should have thought about that before, and anyways I should stay here. You know, in case Will needs help."

"They're in a coma. If you stop arguing and _pick__me__up_, you'll be back before they come around."

"One woke up and is in talking to Will."

A small smile flitted across Ashley's face, "Does Will know that you are watching him?"

"I'm not watching Will."

Ashley poked at the stunned chameleon with her toe as her smile grew, "Does Mom know that you are using the internal monitoring systems to watch Will?"

"Again, I am not watching Will! I'm watching..." Ashley grinned as Henry's rant came to an abrupt stop. "Fine, I'll bring the van."

"Make it quick, I want to see if I can find any information regarding what we saw, and brought back, from our trip." Hearing a frustrated growl over the phone, Ashley ended the call before allowing her laugh to escape. Sometimes Henry was just too easy to bait.


End file.
